Ai Kotoba
by Lady Adeline
Summary: You like this stupid me, you give me love, you listen to this song and cry for me, Thank you. MC/FeMC -and mentions of other pairings included.
1. 00: Once Upon a me :part 1:

'Ai Kotoba'

By L. Adeline

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><p><em>00: 'Once Upon a Me (Us) ' 12_

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><p>Green.<p>

An eerie shade of pale green fermented that one hazy April night. Winds were blowing elfishly around the area; its whisper was the only thing that prevented silence to ever blind that one night. Ghostly Nothingness; it clouded the streets of Port Island like a heavy blanket. Motion ceased, and every living thing seemed dead and nothing more but a mere myth. The time then, was exactly midnight; however, never did it seem to even exist at that moment, time was not of the essence at that time, and gave off ideals that the world was a home of nothing but stillness and that every human being was lost to death. Well, perhaps not all.

Just then, just a few minutes after midnight, a figure is seen roaming the streets. Never hesitant to walk past the ghostly coffins that stood up on the streets, never beckoning to stop, it just continued to stride, almost oblivious to the events.

Strangely enough, it didn't seem to be alone. Far behind it, a few meters perhaps, another shadow flickered against the eerie green glow of the atmosphere. However, unlike its predecessor, this one had more fear in its steps. Dainty and yet filled with inconsistency, much different from the other, which was much calmer and bolder.

Their distance was not a matter of time; they came together, on the same train. But as said, they were two completely different from the other. If it hadn't been for the first's pace- perhaps from its endurance that kept it away from its growing drowsiness- it should have never reached its position, in truth, if it was too pay attention to the nagging tiredness in its body, then it were to be no different from the second lone figure that fell behind. But its fate was decided by itself, and no one could interfere with that.

But enough of this conspiracy, let's move on deeper, deeper into the two.

The first lone figure was a boy of 16 (?) known from birth as Arisato, Minato, who seemed unbothered by the current display of menacing events, seemed too preoccupied with his destination to even pay much attention towards the coffins and the way the moon glowed and how silent it was (Though he noticed it, mind you). A junior in reality, orphaned yet keeps a very distinct outlook on life; calm, relaxed, and almost too laid-back.

The second was not much different from the first. Her birth name is known to be as Shujinko, Minako ;(?) Quite a relevance no? The sudden similarity doesn't only apply to their names, it goes further: to their age, to the school both will soon be attending, their loss, and even their destination. However, there are the striking differences that are much more inevitable than any similarity given. On their general appearance, Minako was a natural brunette; her brown ponytail was a big contrast to Minato's obvious blue bangs. His eyes were a relaxing pair of cobalt; hers were a dazzling shade of bright red. Their mentality, had also a very big role on the two's antonyms. In this, you could easily distinguish who was the calm, laid back, silent (with a dash of laziness and humor) blueberry, and who was the bubbling, ecstatic and cheerful (yet sometimes stayed silent and only spoke when needed to) ball of hazel joy.

If such matters were to fill a book, the antonyms would greatly out-number the synonyms. But who's to say we've learned everything?

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><p>On the far end of the current road he took, Minato could catch a glimpse of the Iwatodai Dorm. The supposed place where he was to be staying for the time being, or that's what it says on his admission pamphlet.<p>

The dorm itself wasn't much of a surprise, it seemed like a regular dorm from where he stood. So there wasn't much to observe from that point, aside from the green glows and how useless were his earphones at that moment (he was fairly sure that he had already took them for a few fixes before boarding the train, perhaps the batteries have gone dead?). The boy quickly took the initiative to enter as soon as he reached its entrance, conscious of how tired he was from the exhausting trip. His was about to grasp it, until a prickly feeling started to gnaw his insides. A sense of presence; the bluenet was fairly certain that he was being watched.

Minato strained his eyes a bit, trying to keep them open as much as he could to further distinguish his surroundings. Nothing but the trees that moved against the winds were there, could it have been his imagination all along? He chuckled at this, "...Guess my drowsiness caught me" deciding that it was only a figment of his already tired mind, he proceeded to open the doors.

Until of course, a sharp pain from the head stopped him entirely. It was followed by a screech, sounded like a very feminine voice. But it was strained, almost if its owner was struggling to make such a noise. Unfortunately for the young fool, the blow that he just received was enough to him fall back, causing him to hit the door head first, making him stumble for a few minutes before finally landing wearily on the ground. He could feel the cold cement of the steps against his lower regions, and the feeling of hard wood rubbing the back regions of his cranium and back. Suddenly, the feeling of blacking out didn't seem so bad, as though he could finally rest from a hard day. Nothingness, he could feel it inside him. Minato felt light, almost too light as he finally gave into his drowsiness and fell unconscious.

The very last thing he was certain off before his vision went black, was a voice. Its tone surprised him; laced in worry and regret.

"_A-are you ok…?"_

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><p>How the tension started to bubble inside her; it was overwhelming and so sudden. Like committing a crime, and never in her life did she experience such events. This was all very much new to the young brunette, from the very moment she stepped off the train to the point where she was walking around town fallowing the address given to her.<p>

And now, her she was, standing beside an unconscious blue haired teen. Her blood started to rush out of panic, and her mind was already conjuring up ways to try to wake the boy up. Thoughts of being arrested or even suspended started to lace her imagination, it made her sick, made her question why? Why did she even slam the roll of newspaper on the boy's head? Why did she even consider the thought of him being a criminal trying to rade the dorm she was about to reside her year in? Why must all the street lights go useless and leave nothing but the green light from the eerily gigantic moon the only source of light?

Minako's heart started to race uncontrollably, almost as if she was running against death itself. Causing her mind to become hazy, only useless ideas were coming out of it, and none seemed to comply to having him wake up (because he was blocking the door with his body, and she wouldn't dare push the door open while he was there). Crouching down to his level, the brunette began to assault his cheek with her finger, "H-hey, could you…uh…wake up so I can…open the door?" she whispered, as if it could even make a difference.

Rinse, lather, repeat.

The silence made her tingle in defeat, "Ugh…why did I have to come so late…? This wouldn't happen if arrived earlier!" the base of her palm landed on her head with a small smack, and in frustration, she began to mumble a few curse words, though she was fairly certain it was out of ear shot. However, that did not stop her from trying other options (which I leave you to think you off).

Regardless of the time she spent, the perseverance never faltered, and it just kept spinning in the things she did to wake the blue-haired stranger up. Finally, after a few tries of what seemed to be useless acts, Minako decided the best thing she could do in such a situation was drag the boy into the dorm herself. She was certain he himself was a Gekkoukan student, perhaps going home late from doing things, and she briefly considered not to push the limits of her imagination towards that matter, instead, she proceeded to pull the other fool into the dorm.

"…Hmm…he's actually lighter than I imagined, even if he IS a dude" Minako could only shake her at that; it was no time to worry about useless topics at that time. To her surprise though, said male began to shift a little. His head suddenly falling into place on her shoulder, his loose bangs swiftly swayed to the side a bit, and suddenly, he was mumbling things incomprehensible, but Minako was fairly sure it was about an admission pamphlet, a train, and about getting his money back from some-type of merchant.

Regardless, Minako couldn't help but tinge her cheeks a cute shade of light pink as she stared at the sleeping blue-haired male. The boy was in fact, very admirable. No, he was far more than that, he was handsome, to say the least, and Minako started to wonder why she hadn't realize his features earlier.

Oh joy, another why question.

She lets out a heavily forced sigh, "Hnngg…I need to get to sleep soon…I'm going to collapse if I don't…" the brunette started to slowly pry the doors open, one hand on the knob, the other on her waist… wait, she was sure she had her other hand supporting the boy's back…then why did she feel…?

The revelation hit her like a brick.

That time, the heat that reached her cheeks weren't tinged pink, it was tinged bright red. The edges of her conscience were screaming; nagging her to slap the blue-haired boy then and there. But was the point? He was clearly asleep, unconscious; oblivious to the things his body was doing. She'd have to console him later on, and then she'll feed the long awaited slap.

For now, she'll let the matter fester.

Strangely enough, as soon as Minako was able to enter (only having one of the doors open), the other teen began to shift in motion. His weight caused a collision between them, and BAM, Minato's body fell onto the floor, with Minako toppling not long after. Said brunette could only groan in the immense pain that started to shoot throughout her body.

Their legs were in a mess; tangled and crossed in an untidy way.

His hair was sprawled out the floor in every direction.

Her clothes were rumpled like crazy.

He hand his right hand circling his waist…

She had her fingers laced with his…

And their faces were dangerously close to each other…

And just when it couldn't get any worse, the boy started to stir from his unconscious daze; a sharp pain gnawing his head and back, and no sooner did he notice their position.

Cold cobalt clashed with fiery red.

Both fools started to stutter.

"Uh….uh"

Just then, the night was as silent as it could ever be. Green, green, green, it was the only light you could ever distinguish. It was almost dark, alluring to say the least. No one was conscious…only two bright red fools that cluttered themselves on the dorm's floor. Really, who knew a simple mistake would conclude to this?

"Um…c-could you get of me…? You're crushing my innards…"

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><p><em>End of part one<em>

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><p>[AN]:

Whoo~ so cute ^_^ I really had no idea what I was writing a while back…But I guess it came out good. Anyways, this would be my new project (as you might have guessed) since I just love Minato x Minako/ Hamuko~ It's my second actually. The first one would be Aki x Mina x3 This will probably end up a fluffy love story, but I just rated it T for some reasons. Mmm, I dun no really. D: Maybe I'll be writing up some dark chapters...so lets just put that for safety measures.

The main pairing in this story would be Minako x Minato as you can see, but there will also be a few hints of other pairings too. I guess you could call it an AU fic for having both Minako and Minato here. So anyways, R & R please ^_^ it's gladly appreciated.

? – Is Minato really 16..? I'm not really sure with that o – o please elaborate it if you have the time.

? – I believe they used Shujinko for the Japanese version, correct? I didn't really like the sound of Hamuko, I like Minako better…errr... yeah..Its sounds better...for me at least.

[ P .S. I'm sorry if either characters were OOC, I tried-! T ^ T hnnngggg]


	2. 00: Once Upon a me :part 2:

'Ai Kotoba'

By L. Adeline

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><p><em>00: 'Once Upon a Me (Us)' 22_

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><p>He had his moments; Grief, pain, pressure and humiliation, but they didn't matter too much. Every time they came toppling down on him, he didn't hesitate to face those head on; they weren't a problem to him. He was strong against them, well, his ego was at least. He didn't dare himself to cross between those borders of emotions, he didn't want to. He was selfish in fact, selfish about keeping himself in check, and that he won't fall into a useless daze, he wouldn't allow himself, never.<p>

He _didn't_ want to be affected by the grief. It would keep him from his focus; it would keep from moving forward.

He _didn't _want to feel the pain of the situation. He had to be strong, to be able to grasp the courage to face the future pains that would come.

He _didn't_ want to be pressured. Nervousness, inconsistency and loss of focus, the boy didn't want that, so he endured every situation that came like weight; he carried them and made them a challenge to make him stronger.

Humiliation? It didn't exist in his world. Sure, there were times where he was laughed at, there were times where he was stared at like he was some type of display, but really; the teen was never bothered about it. Not once did he let those go to his head, it would escape, dispersed and forgotten like it was nothing.

People admired him for that. His old classmates did, his distant relatives, and a few strangers that saw him keeping his cool even after something embarrassing happened right in front of their eyes.

But why? He asked; face red and heart beating out of normal pulse. He felt his blood rushing through his veins quicker than it supposed to. He shifted uncomfortably, a nagging voice crying annoyingly at the back of his head.

"_You're screwed"_

He groaned, almost annoyed that his conscious was purposely taking his ego down the drain; dragging it into the abyss leaving the bitter shock as an after taste. Minato wanted to stand, to leave as soon as he could to make save his self, from embarrassment itself. But he couldn't, the bluenet was frozen, and it happened it the most awkward situation he could ever experience. Perhaps it was the intimacy? Or was it his inexperience with females? Well, regardless of the reason, the fool was certain that, that one moment would easily topple the other moments in his short list of awkward days; without even trying, he knew it would definitely garner the top spot. But Minato tried, tried to keep the pressure down and that event from ever scarring him, like he usually did.

"Um…c-could you get off me…? You're crushing my innards…"

His voice staggered a bit as he stared into pooling red, eyes wide and shifty. Minato could feel her breath as she breathed in and out swiftly, almost as if she had a hard time to even process air into her lungs. But the blue-haired male could hear it, her voice barely surpassing a whisper, but considering their distance, Minato could hear her.

"If you take your arm off me first…"

The way she voiced it out was enough for him to swiftly pull his arm away that oh-so innocently stayed on her small waist. Minato didn't put too much thought on it, just pulled away fleetly. Not bothering whether he had hurt her in doing so. His mind was too hazy to process anything at the moment.

"Ah- sorry" Minato swallowed, refusing to meet her gaze. The brunette stood, and (much to Minato's surprise) outstretched her right hand to help him up on his own feet. The blue-haired teen didn't hesitate, just nodded, mumbling a small 'thank you' before accepting her help gladly. As soon as he could stand, he took the gratitude of releasing the girl's hand. She didn't seem offended for such harshness, and somehow, he was glad she wasn't.

"Don't mention it" she said, dusting her skirt before dragging her palms through the messy strands of her rich brown hair. Straightening out some of the curls and crumples and re-arranging some bobby pins. Then the gentle air started to settle, replaced with a heavy atmosphere that seemed to cut bruises unto both their skins. His mind started racing, and his eyes could only look at the ground. He noticed, though, that the brunette beside him also seemed to be a daze – a fixed daze; eyes hidden through her brown bangs and her body looking limp. Could she be thinking of the same things as he?

There was a silence, an eerie silence that hung heavily in the air between them, and for a while, it seemed that neither of the two even dared to speak. The fragility of that moment bothered Minato a bit; it would break, he was sure of that. In a matter of minutes, he would either expect a somewhat harsh action from the brunette, or even find himself ambling across the floors to the stairs in a blink.

But instead, he found his voice cowering at the back of his neck before finally spluttering out what Minato described as a forced introduction of himself.

"…Ari-sato…"

Through the darkness that enveloped the dorm in a shady green, Minato caught the sight of her eyes flutter rapidly, almost, slightly, confused.

"What…?"

Cue mental face palm. Regardless though, he managed to out stretch his left –which he strived to keep it from shaking too much, and in a voice that sounded much like his normal voice (he was glad that his voice didn't shrink fully), he repeated his introduction. "Arisato, Arisato Minato" this time, he managed to speak without making his words fall out of his tongue carelessly. He made sure his voice was solid; cool and calm before grating out the words, and he was very happy with the results.

The girl eyed him, almost passive of the entire situation; blinking a few times until finally understanding. She began to rub the back of her head sheepishly, "Ah- Shujinko, Shujinko Minako to be exact" she said, shaking his hand with a bright smile plastered on her lips. The ecstatic beat in her voice made the boy take a small mental note; the girl was definitely MUCH different from what he had _proposed_ she would be. Silent, over-reacting, too innocent- those were the things that swelled in his mind when he first caught sight of her (from a very awkward view point as a matter of fact). Up-beat, happy-go-lucky, smiling- this was the image that embedded itself in his mind five minutes later.

It was a very big difference. But he couldn't say himself whether it was a good or bad type of change. He wasn't very certain of his reaction to it either. Nevertheless, at that moment, he felt at peace again. That tension that once bubbled in his chest was gone. The deep wrenching dread that came toppling down on him after seeing the brunette in silence was no longer clawing on his insides. Minato could feel his shoulders slumping a bit. He stifles a yawn and later rubs his right eye gingerly, and all the while, all he could think was the feeling of a pillow underneath his head and warm blanket wrapping him like a cocoon. Oh the heaven.

"Err-you ok Arisato-san? You seem sleepy…maybe we should retire for the night?"

He felt her gaze on him, and it wasn't very long until reality suddenly came back at him like a brick. Minato blushed slightly, feeling rather embarrassed from dozing in front of someone whom he just met. But wait? How DID he end up below her? And how did she manage to fall on top of him?

He groans; his mind is too tired to even think of such things. Maybe he'll try to console her later? Who knows; only time will tell when he'll ever question about the matter.

"Mmm…sleep sounds good"

Minato hears her giggle, and later feels a strong grip across his shoulders and back.

"Ok…I guess we're both tired. Seeing it's already, I don't know…22 minutes past midnight? Eh, I'm not sure. Let's just get some sleep" her voice sounded flat, but he could understand that, her face mirrored his in terms of drowsiness after all.

He chuckled lightly, "You know…I can lift myself up"

"That's not a reason for me not to help you. Your argument is invalid, Arisato-san"

The blue-haired teen could feel his body being dragged against cold cement, and for a moment, he briefly considered that Shujinko wasn't your average, scrawny, figure-obsessive teenage girl. She was strong for someone of her size, being able to carry him easily like that, and Minato was certain he towered her in a fair 2 inches or more.

"H-hey, Arisato-san, I'm sorry…for earlier…hitting you like that…"

Oh. So she was the cause of that?

"It's fine…really. Just…don't do that ever…again" Minato restrains himself from further expanding the matter, to further dive into the events. He decides, mostly for himself, that it's best to let it at ease until the right time.

He feels her head shift, and despite the darkness, he knew she was nodding feverishly.

Then silence bickers; lingering as he forces to keep up with the pace of girl's legs. However, the boy feels, or rather, knows that such a dead silence was a product of their drowsiness, and not because they didn't have anything to say at that point. Minato purses his lips into a small smile, and suddenly, all feels well.

Until, a voice –a creepy, lingering, child-like voice, echoes in against the walls. It makes them shiver, and both fools soon realize that they weren't alone.

"_Welcome~"_

Needless to say, Minato could've sworn he was about to fall merciless on his bottom again as soon as he felt the startled shift in Minako's stance. Thankfully, before he could even reach the floor, Minako had managed to grip his shoulders, roughly, but it was better than falling for the third time.

"_You're late. I've been waiting a long time~"_

…Scratch that. He could've sworn that floor must have liked him so much, it became a magnet.

Peachy, just peachy.

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><p>Minako Shujinko knew better that a child wearing prison-like clothes staring at them eerily in a place where it most likely dark and green and where she could have sworn that the clock had already passed the tick of midnight was definitely not a normal sight. And it took a lot of persistence to keep all the shock that threatened to come out as a scream hidden. Even so, she was glad she was able to manage her reactions.<p>

Still, she couldn't help but shiver a bit from the boy's voice. Honestly, she would've ran straight to her room as soon as she heard the creepy little 'welcome' by the lounge if she didn't have Minato barely gripping unto her shoulders, refusing to fall again.

"_You're late. I've been waiting a long time~"_

Bam. That was all it took for Minako to give into the nagging voice that persuaded her to at least yelp in shock. And no sooner, did the boy next to her begin to cower in pain as he sat on the cold floor. The brunette tried to say sorry, she really did, but her voice was nowhere to be found at that point; almost as if it just deliberately dispersed itself from her throat, landing in an uncomfortable crash at the bottom of her stomach –which, in turn, was doing unconscious flips and churns as she felt the mysterious boy's piercing blue gaze.

If it wasn't for the contract that was held out to them, Minako would have already picked up the poor boy.

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><p>He smiles back at them. Gently holding out the contract out to them, and waits for their reaction before continuing his speech.<p>

"_If you want to proceed, then please sign here. _It's_ a contract."_

The brunette eyes him suspiciously, then back at the contract that he had held out.

"_There's no need to be scarred"_ he said, smiling ominously as if fully aware of the tension that grew inside the two.

"_It only binds you to accepting full responsibility for your actions."_

He slowly, very slowly, drew nearer, and held out the feathered pen out freely with his other hand. Then just stared at them; waiting for either to take the initiative of signing their names.

Boldly written in blank ink was,

"**I chooseth this fate of my own free will"**

Both teens seemed to notice. Who wouldn't though? The letters scaled on a great size, and the color of its black ink topped the ones before it.

He smiles, as he watches the first fool boldly grab the pen from his fingers, and he lets out a small, very small, chuckle as he watches the other fool looking at him in such disbelief.

The young male signs his name, and looks back at his companion, slightly amused.

"Are you going to pretend to be a lamp post all night? Or are you going to sign?"

He laughed silently as the girl quickly rushes to his side and grabs the pen from him, cheeks obviously flustered from emotions he thinks he'll never understand.

"Ha-Of course not!" she says, and he knows all too well that her voice was laced in pure resolve and determination, and a faint hesitation, from what he sees.

She signs much differently from him, he inquires. Loops with messy spirals; a very feminine type of cursive, and then there was his, clean and very organized gothic letters; another manifestation that it was hard to believe that these two were of the same kind. 'They have so many differences, and fate choose them to be what they are', he thought, 'But I guess I cannot really question that…It is fate who decided, and no one can interfere'. Regardless of this, he still thinks that these two are definitely, a weird set for people who are about to make the greatest journey, for both life and its answer.

He pushes that thought away quickly as soon as he sees two signatures fill the blank space of the contract.

"…_Very well"_

The boy stares at them intensely, and then it gently lowers into a small, yet caring gaze.

He's interested in them, quite fond of them actually. So he makes sure he'll come visit them again.

"_Time is something no one can escape. It delivers us all to the same end. Wishing won't make it go away."_

He gently pulls the contract away and then spoke of the words that would probably begin their journey, a sign of the genesis of their year together, facing various events that would test them; ready them for the future that is about come.

"_And so it begins…"_

His body starts to sink into the night, fading like gentle dust against the cold, eerie wind. But he has no hesitation in doing so, because he knows he'll come back, for them.

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><p><em>End of part two<em>

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><p>[AN]:

o A o Sudden change in writing style is kinda creepy for me….I dunno know…maybe it's because I listening to Bad End Night? Or maybe because I was kinda…enveloped into Pharos' deep, creepy kind of character… seriously…I never knew I could write something like that…man…Pharos is such an influence.

Ahem, anyways, here's part two of Once Upon a Me (Us). This took me a while…three days to be precise. Two whole days of having constant writer's blocks…and I'm barely pushing through today since I have really low inspiration…

Neh…guess Tartarus won't allow me to get into higher blocks. . .

…

…

Fuck, I sound like Ikutsuki. - A- Not good.

-cough, err…yeah…next volume is going to entitled 'Two Breathes Walking' mostly gonna consist of 6 or more chapters... Depending on my pacing that is. So, hopefully you enjoyed this chapter…because my neck is killing me, and I just skipped dinner…soo hungry…-gnaws arm.

R & R Please.

[ P.S. Anyone willing to Beta read this…? It feels kinda off…for me]


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